Happily Ever After
by RielleB
Summary: There's always something dark and twisted in every tales.
1. The Fairest of Them All

_AN: So uhm... Hi *waves* I cant believe I'm actually doing this. First time poster here and first time in actually writing for the fandom, so... all I can say, it was all **Redsneakers** fault for dragging me AND making me fell in love with this pairing**. **I hope I dont screw it up big time thou' Oh and English definitely not my first language and this story is un-beta, therefore all faults are all entirely mine :p  
_

_This little one-shot is set around the fifth book/movie and its my take on what could possibly runs through Hermione's mind when she first saw the Black tapestry.  
_

_**Disclaimer: Not mine. I could go on and on with the proper legal terms which probably will be longer than the actual story ;p**_

_Anyway, without further a do, hope you guys enjoys it :)  
_

* * *

_Beautiful… _

The errant thought escapes before she could curb it and Hermione mentally cringe.

There she was with tea towel tied over her nose and mouth, a bottle of Doxycide on her hand, spraying away at the Doxys when her eyes fell at the tapestry.

Soon, she found herself standing in front of it, her legs obeying the unmistakable pull that attracts her to look once more at the sprawling family tree of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.

But who was she trying to kid? As with the first time Sirius showed them the tapestry, her eyes kept reverting back to one particular Black.

Bellatrix Black.

Her hand trembles slightly before her finger safely touch the golden thread embroidery that leads to the most beautiful woman she ever laid her eyes upon.

Black curls framed her beautifully sculptured cheek bones. Her eyes as dark as the night pulls you in to swam on its depth. Skin as fair as the ivory and her red… red lips…. Hermione found herself swallowing slightly at the sight of such perfect lips.

She recalled a childhood story of a princess with hair as black as the midnight, skin as fair as the snow and lips the color of blood and how she always told her mother that no woman can be that beautiful. Oh, but how wrong she knew she was now.

Yes, the woman depicted in the tapestry is a living breathing proof that such woman do exist.

_She really is the fairest of them all… _

Unfortunately, her personality differs immensely from the kind hearted princess in the story. No. Her heart is as black as her name.

Hermione caresses the picture with her eyes once more, committing such beauty in her mind.

_What happened to you? What made you the way you are?_

She shakes her head to clear her thoughts. There's no use in wondering about the enemy, but she can't help but saddened by it.

Such beauty… lost to the darkness.

* * *

**_Hookaaayy... Thank you for reading *gnawing on lips nervously* I hope you like it! *runs back to lurker zone* _ **


	2. Awaken with a Kiss

**A/N: Thank you for those who already takes the time to review. It means a lot :) **

**Uhm... so the plot bunny keeps on badgering me and refuses to leave me alone until I wrote this and so, this probably wont be a one shot any longer. **

**This chapter takes place in the Malfoy manor. Yep, its _that_ scene. Well, at least in this one, it is a -what could have happen- during the torture scene.**

** Oh and my prompt is still Disney classic, lets see if you can spot which one is my prompt. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Yep, still not mine.**

* * *

Bellatrix twirls her crooked wand expertly between her fingers, quietly watching the rise and fall of the mudblood's chest, the only indicator that it is still alive.

_Pathetic. Utterly and despicably pathetic. _

Bellatrix scoffs disdainfully, and to think that she didn't even make an effort with her _crucio_. Such a low pain threshold, but then again, it _is_ a mudblood. What does it knows about pride? So breakable. So…. _Fragile_.

She pokes at its thigh with her foot, she's been trying to wake it up after it passes out a candle mark ago to no avail. She tilts her head slightly, a frown emerging on her face. She didn't torture it that hard, right? Just a couple of _crucio_ and well, she did carve its arm, but it's not like it bleed. Much.

And she does need it alive. She needs to know where they got the sword from.

She pokes harder, hard enough to categorize it as a kick, yet the mudblood still lay there, unmoving. Not even a single sound. As if a magic spell has been cast upon it, transporting it from the land of consciousness to somewhere in neither realm.

Another hard kick connected with Hermione's torso and just like Bellatrix's other attempts, Hermione still remains unconscious.

She peered down at it again, squinting slightly.

Tear tracks can be seen clearly since her face is caked with dirt. Scrapes and bruises here and there, no doubt a souvenir from the escapades with the werewolves.

It is quite… remarkable, really, how they manage to elude the Death Eaters so far. Oh, she knows that it was not a feat of itty bitty baby Potter's skills or that ginger head boy. No… it was the mudblood. This… little filth, which many hails as the smartest witch in _its _time.

Ha! Such fact only serves as proof just how pathetic the wizarding world has turns out to be. A bloody freaking mudblood. A muggle who is not deserving of things as sacred as magic and yet, it outsmart them. _Pathetic_.

This will never happen if only they kept their blood purity! They diluted the flow of strong magic in their vein, mingling with filth and therefore breed filth.

She, who has been hailed as the smartest witch in _her _time, knew that she could outsmart, out do and literally destroy this mudblood with ease. She is, after all, a Black.

Feeling tired all of a sudden, Bellatrix sighed before lowering herself on the ground beside it. Knees up, elbows down, using her hands to prop her face, she then blew one errant curl out of her face out of boredom. She wants to play and torture it again, but not hearing any scream? What's the point?

_Rise_.

_Fall_.

_Rise_.

_Fall_.

Using her arms as pillow, she watches the hypnotic movement with a permanent frown on her face. There's something about the mudblood's face that's bothering her. Well, basically everything about the mudblood bothers her, but there's just something… something about the way she looks….

Yeah, yeah, the mudblood is pretty. '_What a pretty little mudblood_' she heard Fenrir said it over and over again, she was ready to hex him just to kept him quiet. But no… not that.

There's this…. calmness about it that unnerves her.

How could it still looks that peaceful after enduring _crucio_? so…. _innocence_.

A pang shoots through Bellatrix's heart.

Did she ever look that innocence? Even as a child? She doesn't even want to think about peaceful. She could hardly remember when the last time she has a restful sleep.

She grits her teeth, squashing the uneasy feeling that suddenly engulfs her. Why does it bother her so much how peaceful and innocence the mudblood look?

Laying there, looking oh so very pretty even with cuts and bruises adorning her face, just laying there like a princess waiting to be awaken with a kiss from her prince.

A kiss from her prince.

A kiss.

A sinister grin blooms on Bellatrix's face before she crawls slowly toward the mudblood and straddling it across the stomach.

One sharp fingernail trails a path on Hermione's face, pausing briefly on her bottom lips and scrapes it, marking it.

Bellatrix let her tongue touch her own bottom lips, licking it slowly.

Yes… she would awaken the _princess _with a kiss.

A kiss…..

_Bugh_!

from her fist landed on the underside of Hermione's jaw, resulting in a low moan from the teenager and Bellatrix's grin spread wide.

"Wakey, wakey little muddy_. __**Do you miss me**__?"_

* * *

_A/N: Should I continue?  
_


	3. Battle of Hogwarts

A/N: Much love to all of the reviewers, thank you! *handing out cookies*

Uhm… for those who ask, yes, it supposed to be a series of one-shot that based off Disney's fairy tales. That was actually the challenge given to me by a friend but it seems now the story have a life of its own, so the plot, the story line, the muse are out of control at this point

This chapter set place at the Battle of Hogwarts, there's a couple of verse that I took from the book for continuity sakes but mostly it's already an AU at this point. Oh and I have to warn you that I always got carried away whenever I wrote a battle scene, so forgive me if I bored you *cringes* and to be honest, I'm not really satisfied with this chapter, gosh my grammar sucks, so… yeah… sorry for any grammatical errors *cringes again*

Finally, I also promise that there would be an interaction between Hermione and Bellatrix, which doesn't involve them trying to kill each other in future chapters, so please bear with me.

Anyway, buckle up, here we go!

Disclaimer: Still not mine

* * *

Chaos reigned.

And the Dark Lord was in the center of the battle, striking and smiting all within his reach.

McGonagall, Slughorn and Kingsley wove and ducked around him, yet they were unable to finish him.

And there, fifty yards from where the Dark Lord duel, stood his best Lieutenant. Her slender figure, dressed in a combination of ebony leather and lace, moved elegantly as she faced off against her opponents with the air of calculating arrogance.

Bellatrix laughed, a sound harsh with madness, as her wand weaved a spell with fierce efficiency. Platinum light jetted from her wand, a swirl of light that turned into multiple arrows that pierced the Shield Charm of her opponents with ease. Forcing cries from their lips as the arrows ran through their body and incapacitated them.

Her skirt swirled around her calves as she turned to look at her surroundings. Dolohov and Macnair were tag-teaming against Flitwick while Fenrir Greyback ferociously attacked a rag tag of students with manic gleam on his eyes. A blasted wall on the Great Hall, gave her an ample view of the school yard and her sneer turned into disgust when she saw that her fellow Death Eaters were slowly being beaten by the force of the Hogwarts' defender.

House elves and Centaur. The two unlikely forces finally joined the fray and turned their power against the Dark Eaters, causing the later to broken rank and scattered around. Unorganized and separated, the weaker duelists seemed to be easily defeated without their stronger counterpart.

Bellatrix scoffed, if it was up to her, she would leave those losers to fend for themselves, but alas she ought to ensure her Dark Lord's victory. Begrudgingly, she raised her hand into the air, line of concentration formed between her brows as her lips moved in a silent chant and shape started to take form beneath her slender fingers, misshapen form slowly turned into a creature made of flame, created by spell into fiery reality.

The creature, with a face so foul it no longer held any human traces, roared before leaping into the air and hovered for one terrifying moment in front of Bellatrix, showing off the coverage of its wingspan that covered almost a third of the Great Hall. The fiery Harpy let out another roar and in a heartbeat it dove like a vengeful demon toward the Hogwarts' defenders, forcing duels to stop as they scrambled for safety.

A couple of hand signals born out of years of collaborations passed between Bellatrix and the Lestranges brothers, who quickly jumped back toward the foray at the school yard and used the chaos caused by Bellatrix to spread out amongst the Death Eaters, shouting out orders for the others to form a quad each and redouble their effort to attack the castle.

Bellatrix chanted once more under her breath, too low to be heard and her vicious creation dashed toward the house elves, guided by the invisible strings commandeered by the dark witch.

Soon, shrill sounds of anguish filled the night and the smell of burned flesh weaved through the sky as the creature's fiery wings burned any elves that came into contact with it. Drowned voices begging for mercy fell on deaf ears as the army of darkness, lead by the ferocious creature tore through the castle ground.

The creature suddenly fades into nothingness when Bellatrix's concentration was broken by a sudden attack toward her. Instinctively her hand moved in its own accord, blocking hexes upon hexes thrown her way with practical ease. Each time ending with screams from her opponents. She didn't even try to kill them, simply enjoying the glorious adrenaline rush pounding through her vein as the battle commence.

She stopped for a second when from the corner of her eyes, she saw Narcissa and Lucius running among the crowds, not even attempting to fight, shouting for their son as they dodge the curses flying rampant on the Great Hall.

_Ah Cissy…. Soft hearted Cissy…_

She should've killed them on the spot for abandoning the fight, abandoning the cause, abandoning her Dark Lord….. but instead, she found herself deflecting an errant spell zooming toward her baby sister, her watchful eyes followed the Malfoy pair to ensure that no spell would harm them until their silhouettes was hidden from her view, merging with the crowd.

She has done her familial duty, there was nothing else that she could do for them without leaving the battle field herself. She spun on her feet then, ready to enter the battle field once more when she saw _her_.

One opponent stood in front of her, tall and strong. Her pretty face showed her fierce determination.

There, among the flurry of hexes and explosions as spells destroyed the interior of the castle instead of its intended target, the two general from opposite side stood facing each other.

Time seemed to slow and stop as dark brown eyes locked with onyx, and the black witch, face shadowed by the heavy mass of dark curls cascading down to her back, gave her opponent a hauntingly beautiful smile.

"We meet again, _filth_. How's the arm?"

The slight movement in Hermione's jaw was the only indication that the barb struck deep, before her bellowed 'Stupefy!' took form into a jet of light speeding toward Bellatrix, who with a shake of her head blocked it with ease, resulting in a cracking sound of colliding spells.

"Impedimenta! Stupefy!"

Bellatrix's laughter echoed throughout the Great Hall as she pivoted Hermione's curses with the grace of a dancer, "Tsk…tsk…tsk, don't your professors ever tell you, mudblood? In a duel, never reveal which spell you will use."

Hermione narrowed her eyes slightly and a growl escaped her lips, frustrated by how easily the older woman seemed to evade or deflect her spells, "_Incarcerous_!"

"What's the matter filth? Is that's all you've got?" Taunted the dark witch as she deflected Hermione's attempt to body bind her without even breaking a sweat.

Bellatrix's ruby lips curves upward into her signature sinister smirk before it turned into a snarl when she finally noticed the wand used by her opponent.

"You wish to use MY wand against ME!"

Hermione cursed when she realized why her spells can be so easily deflected, the wand that she used, _Bellatrix's wand_, refused to yield to her will, as if unwilling to cause harm to its rightful owner.

Red lights, as fast as lightning, zoomed toward her and with a slight grunt, Hermione blocked the spell thrown at her. Bluish light flared, shielding her from the force of the dark magic.

She remembered Ollivander's remark about the wand, _Unyielding_, was the word that he used. How very appropriate. No wonder she always have difficulties using the wand. Hermione clenched it tighter then, her will almost streamed visibly from her to the wand, forcing the wand to keep the blue shield intact.

Hermione's forearms trembled as spell after spell hit her shield like thunder and each time the spell hit the azure barrier, causing Bellatrix to whine with frustration and as she strike harder, Hermione's shield only flared stronger, her fear and desperation feeding the power of the shield.

She knew that she had no chance to defeat the Dark Lord's most loyal servant, his best duelist. She could only hope that she distracted her long enough, making sure that she couldn't caused even more destruction and death.

It could have been only a single minute has passed, but for Hermione, it felt like a thousand as time lost all of its meaning under such constant pressure and as she was ready to collapsed, a body flew past between the two women and caught the end of Bellatrix's spell causing it to be thrown even further backward to collide with a wall.

The two women watched Walden Macnair slid unconsciously to the ground and a shocked Bellatrix took that chance to assess the situation.

Everywhere she saw the bodies of her fallen comrades littered the Great Hall. Dolohov, Fenrir Greyback, Rookwood, Thicknesse. All lost. All beaten.

An animalistic snarl contorted Bellatrix's elegant features into a horrific mask as she screamed and launched a barrage of fire bolt onto Hermione's shield with renewed vigor.

"Fight me! Where's that Gryffindor courage you're supposed to have? Fight me!"

Hundreds of people now lined the wall, watching the two fights, Voldemort against his three opponents and Hermione battling Bellatrix. All held their breath as they watched the grueling duel, the air around them crackled and the battleground shook by the forces of their magic.

Hermione clenched her teeth as slowly her shield cracked under the magnitude of Bellatrix's attack, and with a desperate cry, she shouted 'EXPELLIARMUS!" with the remain of her power, feeling the surge of power leaving her body and entering the wand before exploding into a blinding light that threw Bellatrix backward, colliding with the wall behind her.

Bellatrix groaned and tried to stand up right, wincing as the motion caused a sudden stroke of pain to shot through her torso. Everything within her pulsed into one desperate need to continue fighting, every last fragment of her power snapping into focus, unwilling to be defeated by a mere mudblood.

Hermione, who already collapsed due to sheer exhaustion, watched as the older woman struggled to gain her footing. All of her body ached and she was already slightly feverish, a sign that she overtaxed her body with magic. Dread engulfed her and the scar on her arm throbbed painfully, she knew that if Bellatrix managed to gain her footing, she would be dead.

They watched each other warily before their eyes connection broke when they heard the simultaneous "_Avada Kedavra_" and "_Expelliarmus_" followed with a bang like a cannon blast.

They saw the Elder Wand flew high, before it was caught safely by Harry and they watched, almost in slow motion, as Voldermort fell backward, his arms splayed, his white hands empty and his snakelike face vacant and unknowing and then he hit the ground with mundane finality. Voldemort was dead by his own rebounding curse while Harry stood there with both wands in his hand.

There was only a deafening silence for a second before the shock of the moment broke and elation and cheers roared and split the air. All at once everyone seemed to surround the Boy Who Lived, seizing and pulling him, trying to hug some part of him while Bellatrix shrieked in horrified denial. Her scream echoed in the air, drowned by the shout of victory.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoy the ride :) and thanks again for reading!


End file.
